Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the twenty-one research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have assigned a hold recommendation, eight have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $48.2895.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $44.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Zacks Research raised Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Seaport Research Partners raised their price objective on Southwest Airlines from $57.00 to $58.00 in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Southwest Airlines in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Southwest Airlines from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $50.00 to $66.00 in a report on Friday, February 27th.

Southwest Airlines Trading Down 3.6%

NYSE LUV opened at $40.07 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $46.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market cap of $19.69 billion, a PE ratio of 47.70, a PEG ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.10. Southwest Airlines has a 12 month low of $23.82 and a 12 month high of $55.11.

Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The airline reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.51 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 1.57% and a return on equity of 6.18%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.56 EPS. Southwest Airlines has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.000- EPS and its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.450- EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Southwest Airlines Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, March 12th will be paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Southwest Airlines’s dividend payout ratio is 85.71%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in shares of Southwest Airlines by 23.8% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 939,398 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $38,916,000 after purchasing an additional 180,619 shares in the last quarter. SHP Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Southwest Airlines in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL boosted its stake in shares of Southwest Airlines by 37.9% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 7,275 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. MidFirst Bank purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Southwest Airlines by 25.8% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 84,394 shares of the airline’s stock valued at $3,284,000 after buying an additional 17,320 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.82% of the company’s stock.

About Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines Co is a U.S.-based low-cost carrier that operates a point-to-point domestic and near-international airline network. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company primarily flies Boeing 737 aircraft and offers no-frills, single-class service designed to keep fares competitive. Southwest’s operating model emphasizes high aircraft utilization, quick turnaround times and an open seating policy, allowing customers to board and select seats on a first-come, first-served basis.

Founded in 1967 by Herb Kelleher and Rollin King as Air Southwest Company, Southwest began commercial service in 1971, initially connecting Dallas, Houston and San Antonio.